After Rashmika Mandanna, deepfake video of Kajol changing clothes emerges on social media
Deepfakes are photos and videos that realistically replace one person’s face with another. Efforts are underway to develop tools for detecting deepfake content and raise awareness about its existence.
After Rashmika Mandanna and Katrina Kaif, a fake video of Bollywood actress Kajol has been doing rounds on social media platforms. The footage, originally shared on TikTok, showcases Kajol's face digitally manipulated to create a misleading and fabricated scenario. In the video, the woman purporting to be Kajol appears to be changing clothes, further emphasizing the deceptive nature of the deepfake content.
Who features in the original video?
The original video features English social media influencer Rosie Breen. She had uploaded the video on TikTok on June 5 as part of the “Get Ready With Me” (GRWM) trend. However, now, her video has been morphed to superimpose the face of Bollywood actor Kajol onto Breen's body.
Rashmika Mandanna deepfake video
A few days back, Rashmika Mandanna's deepfake video had gone viral on social media. The video which went viral earlier, showed Rashmika’s face morphed over the body of British-Indian Instagram influencer Zara Patel.
Taking a strong stance against the viral deepfake video of her, Rashmika had penned a long note on social media: "I feel really hurt to share this and have to talk about the deepfake video of me being spread online. Something like this is honestly extremely scary, not only for me, but also for each one of us who today is vulnerable to so much harm because of how technology is being misused."
"Today, as a woman and as an actor, I am thankful for my family, friends and well wishers who are my protection and support system. But if this happened to me when I was in school or college, I genuinely can't imagine how could I ever tackle this. We need to address this as a community and with urgency before more of us are affected by such identity theft," she added.
Govt issues advisory to social media platforms
Following Rashmika's fake viral video, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeiTY) issued an advisory to social media platforms, highlighting the legal regulations governing deepfakes and the potential consequences associated with their creation and dissemination.
Citing Section 66D of the Information Technology Act, 2000, the government advisory stated, "Whoever, by means of any communication device or computer resource cheats by personating, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to three years and shall also be liable to fine which may extend to one lakh rupees." For the unversed, Section 66D relates to 'punishment for cheating by personation by using computer resource'.